She makes a strong argument. From Assassin's Creed 2, Splinter Cell: Conviction, and Shaun White Snowboarding: World Stage - all from Ubisoft Montreal - to Need for Speed: Nitro, EA Sports Active, EA Sports FIFA, and NBA Live 2009 from Electronic Arts' Canadian studios, to Star Wars: The Old Republic from BioWare in Edmonton, there's plenty of proof that Canadian studios are building blockbuster games.
Chad Sapieha spoke with Ms. Parr earlier this month during the Electronic Entertainment Expo (E3) about the ESAC's role in the Canadian industry, the reasons why Canada has become such a dominant force in game development, and what needs to be done to ensure Canada's future success.
Chad Sapieha: Why is the ESAC at E3? What's your role at the conference?
Danielle Parr: I'm here to observe what's going on in the industry and to try to really promote Canadian games. Canada is one of the top three countries in the world in terms of video game production. Year after year, some of the hottest titles at the show are made in Canada.
We've put together a list of these games, and we want to show people how many world-class titles are made in Canada. Like Assassin's Creed 2, which was made in Montreal by Ubisoft and looks like a phenomenal game.
CS: What are some of the benefits and obstacles involved with developing games in Canada? For example, a couple of years ago when our dollar spiked there was some concern that it might have a negative impact on the gaming industry north of the border...
DP: Obviously the dollar is an issue. Things like immigration and the tax environment are considerations as well. Making videogames is a business, just like anything else. The conditions that make a country a good place to do business are important.
But the thing about Canada is that we have some of the best talent in the world. We have some of the best post-secondary institutions in the world, which results in some of the hottest talent, and that's why companies locate in Canada. You can have all the tax incentives in the world - and tax incentives are important in terms of attracting investment, don't get me wrong - but really it comes down to talent. That's the most important ingredient.
That said, I think a lot of provincial governments are targeting our industry because they see it as an important and valuable asset to the economy. These are high paying, highly-skilled jobs. Ontario, for example, just announced in their last budget some lucrative tax incentives to try to compete with Quebec, which has been [offering similar incentives] for quite a few years now and has been highly successful in attracting players like Ubisoft and Electronic Arts.
CS: Part of your role at E3 is to not only check out what's going on, but also promote the Canadian industry. How are you doing that?
DP: Talking to the media is a big part of it. But, we're also trying to talk to policy makers. Parliamentarians see it as an important industry. With the state of the economy as it is now, with the manufacturing industry suffering, and commodity prices suffering, Video games can be a bright spot in the overall economic picture.
We have a quote from Canadian Heritage Minister James Moore, who is an avid gamer himself, in our press release, and we invited him to come down to E3 this year. He wasn't able to come this time, unfortunately, but we're trying to get the word out to Canadians in general that Canada is a player.
We're also meeting with association heads from other parts of the word, including my counterparts in the U.S., and in Europe.
CS: Is there any animosity there? I know Canada has taken heat in the past from other countries on those tax incentives you mentioned...
DP: Not at the association level. We consider ourselves colleagues, and we work together on things.
But I can tell you that we've seen quotes in the media. Politicians in the U.K. in particular, and Australia, have said "What's going on in Canada? They're overtaking what used to be our position." Especially from the U.K. They used to be the third-largest developer of games, but now it's Canada.
At one point last year there was some talk in the U.K. about launching a WTO suit against Canada. They were saying that our tax incentives violated trade agreements. That wasn't founded.
I wouldn't say there's animosity, but there is certainly competitiveness among countries. Video games are the fastest growing entertainment industry in the world, and I think governments are starting to realize that this is a very valuable industry. People want a piece of the pie.
CS: What role does your association play in terms of supporting the Canadian industry at home?
DP: One of our biggest roles is advocacy at the government level, both federal and provincial. We want to make sure that the legal framework around the video game industry is the best it can be, whether it's ratings or IP issues.
We also do research. We did the first pan-Canadian study of the size of the industry in Canada. That's the main sort of work that we do for the industry.
CS: What's the greatest threat to Canada's continued success?
DP: Complacency, I think. We have to continue to be competitive. We were just talking about all of these other countries that are looking to attract the same investment dollars that Canada is. We want to continue to attract jobs and remain competitive as the industry evolves.
As we start to see a shift toward more downloadable content and online games, things like Internet policy and intellectual property protection and trade policy will continue to become more important.
So even though we have great tax incentives and a great industry here, we can't rest on our laurels and hope everything goes well. We have to actively create a climate that protects the industry and helps it grow.
- Addendum: The ESAC recently commissioned a white paper that provides a descriptive and detailed picture of the entertainment software industry.
From that study (as seen at www.theesa.ca/research.html):
Canada's video game industry employs approximately 14,000 people across the country, and in virtually every province.
Geographically, much of Canada's entertainment software industry is remarkably concentrated in three urban regions: Vancouver, Montreal and the Greater Toronto Area. These three primary and seven secondary clusters across eight provinces in Canada represent 94% of total employment.
Several factors contribute to Canada's global success: The country's long standing commitment to investing in higher education that supports a highly skilled talent pool, provincial government support for the industry, and the fact that there is a Canadian cultural element to producing successful entertainment software.
The entertainment software industry in Canada is export-intensive. Fifty per cent of firms rely on exports for 90-100 percent of their revenues, much of which comes from the United States.
